Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak began in Israel at the end of February 2020, and on March 17, 2020, a general lockdown was announced. Families were instructed to stay at home and schools and non-essential businesses were closed. Aiming to understand how families who were already living in areas of high exposure to armed conflict would be affected by another external stressful condition, data were collected before and after the outbreak. Mothers and children (aged 10–45 months) were recruited from areas with high (n = 40) and low (n = 78) exposure to armed conflict. Mothers reported on their posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and on their child's effortful control tendencies prior to the outbreak. Toward the end of the first lockdown, mothers were interviewed regarding adverse effects of the outbreak on their family. No group differences were found for maternal perceptions of adverse effects of COVID-19. However, a moderation model was revealed, indicating that maternal PTSS as well as child effortful control predicted adverse effects of COVID-19 only in the high-exposure group. Results are discussed considering cumulative stress and risk factors.
Highlights
IntroductionExposure of families to armed conflict and political violence is a worldwide problem, currently affecting more than one in 10 children globally [1]
We suggest that high levels of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and low levels of child self-regulation measured before the outbreak will act as risk factors for adverse effects of COVID-19 on families, and this effect will be more robust for families living in the high-exposure areas because they experience cumulative stress
The results of this study should encourage further research that will examine the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood as well as investigate the impact of the prolonged lockdown on family functioning and parental mental state and the way that these consequences cascade on future developmental pathways
Summary
Exposure of families to armed conflict and political violence is a worldwide problem, currently affecting more than one in 10 children globally [1]. Families living in areas of armed conflict experience ongoing exposure to attacks that target civilian areas, creating an uncertain, and often chaotic, reality, which increases vulnerability to mental health difficulties for both parents and children [2]. Studies from around the world have concluded that exposure to any type of armed conflict has severe consequences for children at any age, ranging from difficulties in socioemotional development to psychopathological disorders [3]. Chronic exposure to armed conflict compared to acute episodes was found to have more negative implications for child emotional development and behavioral problems [3, 5–7]. A possible explanation is that with chronic exposure, children and parents live in unpredictable and undefined situations for longer periods, which may elicit stress and deplete their internal mental resources [2]
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